Ezekiel 35:7

I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and will cut off from it those who come and go.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Yahweh speaks through Ezekiel directly against Mount Seir during an oracle condemning Edom for its violence toward Judah. The declaration follows a warning that bloodshed will pursue those who do not hate it.

The words — The Hebrew verb נָתַתִּי (naṯattî) literally means "I will make," while שִׁמְמָה (šimmâ) denotes a "desolation" or "waste." The doubled phrase לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה (ləšimmâ ûšəmāmâ) emphasizes complete and repeated ruin.

The thread — The oracle continues the judgment against Mount Seir first announced in Ezekiel 35:3 and mirrors the uninhabited land described in Ezekiel 29:11. It also parallels the deserted highways and abandoned travelers recorded in Judges 5:6.

Why it lands — The text states that divine action will render the land uninhabitable and sever all movement across it. It requires the reader to acknowledge that sustained hostility toward God’s people results in permanent abandonment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְנָֽתַתִּי֙ve./na.ta.Tiand/ I will make אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַ֣רhar[the] mountain of שֵׂעִ֔ירse.'IrSeir לְשִֽׁמְמָ֖הle./shi.Mahinto/ a desolation וּשְׁמָמָ֑הu./she.ma.Mahand/ a desolation וְהִכְרַתִּ֥יve./hikh.ra.Tiand/ I will cut off מִמֶּ֖נּוּmi.Me./nufrom/ it עֹבֵ֥ר'o.Ver[one who] passes through וָשָֽׁב׃va./Shavand/ [one who] returns

King James Version

Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.

Cross-references

Judges 5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted and the travelers took the byways.
Ezekiel 29:11 No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.
Ezekiel 35:3 and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Mount Seir. I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolate waste.
2 Chronicles 15:5 In those days there was no safety for travelers, because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.
Ezekiel 33:28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.
Ezekiel 35:9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.